APRIL 2020 - Iskraemeco · growth and profitability. Growth excellence leadership is all about growth through customer focus, fostering a continual cycle of improvement and inspiring

APRIL 2020

We are expanding our business with Smart Energy and Water Solutionspg. 11

The future is always overpredicted, but

underestimatedpg. 14

S U S TA I N A B I L I T YI N T H E S P OT L I G H T

Iskraemeco receives the prestigious 2020 Growth excellence leadership awardpg. 02

N E W S

Editorial // 01

News // 02

Human capital // 08

In the spotlight // 11

Sustainability // 14

Digital transformation // 16

Success stories // 20

Around the globe // 21

Health at work // 23

Contents

E D I TO R I A L

1April 2020 // www.iskraemeco.com

Editorial

Luis GoncalvesChief Executive Officer

I don’t need to underline the exception-al times that we are all going through. Since the last Magazine has been pub-lished, our way of life has changed with a major change in our working habits. We have rapidly moved to a flexible rota-tion approach utilising digital tools and being able to work from home remotely. On manufacturing we have changed our behaviour, set specific security measures on safety and security.

I would like to highlight the great work of our IT team during the last few weeks. They rapidly introduced Microsoft teams in February to ensure we have the capa-bilities to work remotely together. I am also very proud that we managed this transition within a structured approach. I would like to thank you all, including the Global Task Force team, which has been coordinating activities globally.

I am particularly proud of our manu-facturing teams in Kranj and Cairo, who have continued to work on a daily ba-sis. A lot has been done to protect our employees, however, it is important to stress that behaviour, contribution and commitment are key.

Dearcolleagues,

From a business perspective we are fac-ing a lot of challenges and an unpredict-able market environment. The commer-cial teams have worked intensively to close as many deals as possible. Supply Chain and Strategic Procurement have been observing and keeping our supply chain under control on a daily basis to secure deliveries. The major challenges are those that we can’t anticipate, i.e. those that require a lot of inspiration and sometimes improvisation.

I would also like to thank our valuable customers, with whom, in these testing times, we have been working even more closely.

Despite all these challenges we are also focusing on our future and further accel-erating the development of our global portfolio. We all are delighted to see the introduction of the new generation of pre-payment solutions in Egypt and Africa covering electricity and water.

The completion of our Indian solution is planned for end of April as well as a solution for LATAM. The progress on our Energy IoT metering platform is very en-couraging as well as our new software suite for utilities to support our global strategy to offer operation services for electricity and water utilities.

I would like to conclude with a message of encouragement that every critical moment can be mastered if there is a hope and optimistic thinking. I hope that we will slowly get back to regular oper-ation mode and I am optimistic that we will continue to execute on strategy in the second half of the year.

Let’s stay healthy, optimistic and together!

N E W S

2 April 2020 // www.iskraemeco.com

Iskraemeco receives the prestigious 2020 Growth excellence leadership award!We are exceptionally proud to announce that Iskraemeco has earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2020 Growth excellence lead-ership award in the global smart me-tering industry. Our company has been recognised as a game changer for its focus on building high-level customer satisfaction, establishing relationships based on transparency and trust among stakeholders in the value chain, as well

as its commitment to sustainable tech-nology, bold strategic initiatives and strong overall performance.

Constant growth in various areas in the industry is challenging and in order to excel in driving growth, we strive to be best in class by meeting customer de-mand, fostering brand loyalty, and carv-ing out a unique and sustainable market

niche. The most important goals in our business processes are inspired by flex-ibility, agility and creativity, which are all key factors in sustaining the company’s growth and profitability.

Growth excellence leadership is all about growth through customer focus, fostering a continual cycle of improvement and inspiring customers, which is the corner-stone of Iskraemeco’s successful, long-term growth strategy. Our metering solu-tions have helped utility companies all over the globe improve their efficiency, lower their operating costs and provide better customer service. With a focus on quality, reliability, and innovation, we are committed to supporting our customers in mastering the digital transformation journey.

Frost & Sullivan’s global teams of ana-lysts and consultants research a wide range of markets across multiple in-dustries and regions and identify com-panies that maintain consistently high standards in delivering customer value, which translates into growth above the industry average. They recognised our accomplishment as the result of many employees, customers, and investors making daily choices to support our or-ganisation and contribute significantly to Iskraemeco’s future.

Iskraemeco’s focus on short-term and long-term growth strategies has been rewarded by strong revenue growth in the smart metering market. The trans-formation from a product to a solu-tion-based smart metering provider has enabled us to attain strong organic growth in various regions.

Hard work and dedication are the bed-rock of every great achievement and the efforts of Iskraemeco’s team have been recognised through the 2020 Growth ex-cellence leadership award. Together we strive towards building the best solutions for our valued customers, which helps our company grow, thus cementing its position as an industry leader.The event was attended by: Maks Prokop, Luis Goncalves, Smilja Dolgan Paternoster, John Arnold and Franc Kuhar.

N E W S


Iskraemeco web page with a fresh lookAt the beginning of February we launched our new and improved web page available at www.iskraemeco.com.

A web page is a dynamic, flexible and interactive medium that provides an im-portant first point of contact between our customers, potential partners, future employees and the company.

The web page provides visitors with the basic company information and in-forms them about the company’s cur-rent activities and sustainable and smart

solutions. Through continuous improve-ments and upgrades we will make sure that its format and content are regularly amended to suit the needs of its users.

The web page also offers fundamental information about our company and solutions, products and services. We offer job seekers various employment opportunities.

Visitors can read current company news and posts published on our social net-works. The first novelty is a blog written

by our collegues that aims to present a variety of new topics to our custom-ers, partners and different employees. Another novelty is the interactive appli-cation “Iskraemeco Universe” (available on the homepage), which presents our solutions.

Visit and explore it as soon as you get the chance.

N E W S


Iskraemeco honours its commitment to provide its employees with a safe envi-ronment and strives for the satisfaction of our employees and their families. At the same time, we remain committed to our customers and partners in meeting their orders and needs.

Iskrameco’s employees have demon-strated their loyalty, agility and flexibil-ity in the face of hardship, helping each other in production work in order to en-sure that production can continue to run without delays.

The team spirit and solidarity that per-vade Iskraemeco are a source of pride and inspiration to all of us. Once again we have demonstrated that ‘Together we can overcome all challenges.’

Proud of the solidarity and loyalty of employees

Iskraemeco has been recognized as Innovator of the Year 2019Iskraemeco was awarded the title of Innovator of the Year 2019 by one of our partners, the electricity distribution company Elenia. At its Partnership Days, Elenia awarded best partners in several categories (e.g. quality work, efficiency work, best rookie). We are very proud and pleased to be recognized by such a great company.

On this occasion, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all employees who embrace change with a positive attitude and a smile. Thank you!

N E W S


MiniLAB test chamber MiniLAB test chamber 6GHz OTA is the only test system of such specifications in South-Eastern part of Europe. System enables OTA measurements execution with rapid pace and high measurement accuracy, including critical low pow-er sensitivity measurements. The main advantages are on-time and on-site testing capabilities, which Iskraemeco can now perform independently, with-out having to send products to remote laboratories across the Europe (France, Germany, Spain, etc.). This gives us competitive advantage over other manufacturers.

In 2019 we began setting up a dedicated area for the MiniLAB test system, which was installed, calibrated and tested at the start of 2020. The designated area is fully renovated and includes EMP shield-ing (Faraday cage).

The MiniLAB test system is certified to support RF communication performance in range 650 MHz to 6 Ghz. However, our past tests show that system can also be used for CDMA 450 MHz testing.

MiniLAB system employs multi-probe technology for a full spherical radiation characterization of the tested device. This allows us to analyse the antennae radiation of the communication module in our energy meters from early devel-opment stages on.

Keynote speech at the SYeNERGY eventOur Sustainability Manager, Mojca Markizeti, gave a keynote speech starting with a quote “The future is always over-predicted, but still underestimated. Today’s leadership will create tomorrow’s reality!”

A great round-table discussion at SYeNERGY event organised by TECES, Energy Cluster offered a deep discussion on technological and social trends and related new busi-ness models.

Digital transformation, sustainability and human resource challenges of the future can be addressed more effectively by fostering networking and creating synergies between companies, partners, educational institutions, the state, start-ups and others.

N E W S


Project Drive: The vision of a global development organization

Every company is founded with an aim and commitment to bring its vision to life. To achieve this, it adopts a strategy, sets the objectives and defines an ac-tion plan. In fact, strategic planning is key to the development of all company departments.

In R&D and Product Portfolio, we start-ed a new project this year and called it “Drive”. The aim of the activity is to en-sure that all projects are delivered on time, on scope and on budget.

An external consultant conducted inter-views with the employees and leaders in the R&D and Product Portfolio depart-ments, and with the representatives of Strategic Procurement, Operations, Finance, Solutions and Project Delivery, and Sales, in order to assess the benefits of project and development work and to find out what changes the interviewees wish to implement. Active project team members are ambassadors of the new approach which is expected to spread across the company.

During workshops, groups analysed and prepared proposals for improvements relating to:

• corporate culture,

• the PLM process,

• understanding, capture and imple-mentation of customer requirements by Iskraemeco’s R&D,

• efficiency of meetings,

• small organisational improvements: fresh fruit available in relaxation, flexitime, working from home (tele-working), and ‘quiet time’ without any external interruptions.

Blocking our external interruptions gives us more time to focus on our projects. We also wish to ensure that development requirements are well-specified in or-der to minimise change requests made during the development process and any related unnecessary costs. Another goal is to improve communication and collaboration inside teams and between departments, and to raise the account-ability of the employees for their output, job performance and decisions taken. Clearly mapped work processes, and flexible, agile and innovative approach are our ticket for future success.

In parallel, the company is also rede-signing the project management system of its Project Office. Newly introduced project cards give a clear insight into the project’s current status, time frame, budget...

Working closely for the achievement of common goals, the Product Portfolio and R&D departments are certain that new organisational measures, as well as the implementation and integration of IT solutions, will set the company on a path towards a more efficient global development organization.

N E W S


Achieving great results with excellent teamwork

The 1000th smart meter in the Höfe district was installed successfully.

Smart meters are important com-ponents of the smart grid and the basis for the efficient energy net-work in the future. It is a pleasure to work with EW Höfe AG team.

How to make Europe’s energy transition a reality with the help of smart technologies? Iskraemeco was part of the event organized by ESMIG, the European voice of smart energy solution providers. Dieter Brunner, ESMIG President and Iskraemeco’s President of the Board of Directors, closed the discussion by recalling the importance of cooper-ation between the industry and regulators for the benefit of EU and stated that ESMIG and its members will continue to foster the dialogue between industry, policy-makers and citizens at the EU, national and local levels.

H U M A N C A P I TA L


Iskraemeco’s Talent Academy

Identification of talents is an HR practice generally implemented in most mod-ern organisations. Iskraemeco is aware that identification and development of high-potential employees is a key com-ponent of the company’s success, in the broad sense of the word, since it will be these individuals who will in the future assume more demanding and responsi-ble roles or become future leaders.

Last year we identified talented and high-potential employees, along with key functions, as those employees whose knowledge, outstanding job perfor-mance and commitment contribute to the efficiency of their group or depart-ment and, consequently, to the overall success of the entire company.

The first generation of the Talent Academy, which started in October 2019, consists of the employees who have been recognised as talents by their superiors and the HR. By joining the two-year study programme, they will acquire a wide range of knowledge that they can apply to their daily tasks and that is particularly beneficial to the

understanding of other work areas and business processes.

The programme was designed in collab-oration with the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana, which adapted the contents of the programme to our needs and wishes. Lectures within certain modules were given by external and Iskraemeco experts.

The first year of the programme consists of eight modules:

• Strategic mindset

• Strategic role of digitalisation and new business models with the im-pact on Industry 4.0

• Finance for non-financier & macroeconomics

• Using Design Thinking methodology in decision making

• Presentation skills and techniques

• Time management and motivation

• Sales and business marketing management

Apart from being involved in the regular programme, the talents were divided into heterogeneous groups and asked to provide answers to certain internal challenges, which were set in coopera-tion with internal mentors. Project work strengthens their teamwork and social skills, while their expertise is beneficial in finding the optimal solution.

The solutions will be presented to the management and we are certain that many of them will be adopted.

The second year of the programme will focus on building leadership skills and expertise, as well as providing in-depth knowledge of the first-year topics.

The entire program enables the profes-sional advancement of young employ-ees in various business areas. Upgrading knowledge, gaining leadership skills, and being able to lead a variety of projects – this is value added for an individual who enters the Talent Academy.

The Talent Academy participants are currently undergoing PXT assessments. PTX Select is a tool that assesses the thinking style, behavioural traits and occupational interests. The results will be used for career development and training plans, with a focus on leadership or expert knowledge.



STATEMENTS FROM ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS

“For me, the Talent Academy is a great opportunity for career advancement, so it was self-evident that I’d join such a programme. It will definitely give the ambitious and talented participants the push they need to enhance their skills and grow on a professional and personal level. Polishing the skills within the com-pany is a great initiative that will defi-nitely pay o� in the future.”

Hossam ZaimiTehnical Trainer,Services Management

“The Talent Academy is a treasure chest of knowledge from di�erent fields. It opens up a world that is hardly acces-sible from the comfort of our professional armchairs. The trainings are based on interesting and varied lectures. Apart from being involved in the learning programme and internal projects, the participants developed close ties and friendships that would probably not have existed outside the department walls. Knowledge connects and is an investment in the future.”

Primož CuznarIndependent Development Engineer,Firmware

“I joined the Academy because the modules cover a range of business fields and will allow me to expand the breadth of my knowledge. I enjoy working with people from other departments and learning more about di�erent functions in the company.”

Jure BregantIndependent Specialist,Financial Reporting





STATEMENTS FROM MENTORS

“Several projects that were launched in the framework of the Talent Academy would have normally never started at all. We believe that work in project groups delivers added value for team mem-bers learning about the ac-tivities of other departments through project tasks, as well as for mentors to whom the exchange of views may give a fresh insight into the topic discussed. Our project group is working on measuring cus-tomer satisfaction, which we consider to be a topic that is interesting for many company departments (Sales, Customer Support, Order Execution) and we hope that the measures carried out in the scope of the project will eventually be ad-opted and transferred to daily practice.”

Mateja Resman NOVAKHead of Professional Services Sector

Smilja Dolgan PaternosterHead of Strategic Marketing

“The Academy has sparked the creativity and engage-ment of our talents in specific projects which will create val-ue added for the company’s operations. The talents do not only demonstrate their potential in their respective areas, but through under-standing of other fields, team work and presentation skills. The Academy has a great programme, and excellent external lecturers who help us use out talents to introduce fresh approaches, skills and knowledge. The programme contents are intricately con-nected with the project tasks, which we perform with the help of mentors and will soon yield results. I’m really looking forward to the continuation of the programme and hope that it will be expanded to in-clude other age groups in the future.”

Tamara ČetkovičHead of Continuous Improvement Program

Talent Academy

018 modules in 2019/2020

& 8 modules 2020/2021

02Project work

03Developing

leadership and expert skills

I N T H E S P OT L I G H T


We are expanding our business with Smart Energy and Water Solutions

For more than seven decades, Iskraemeco has been delivering quality products, solutions, and services in the demanding field of energy management, but we are constantly exploring new opportunities for growth and development.

We interviewed Peter Kobal, Iskraemeco’s Director of Smart Energy and Water Solutions, about exciting new possibilities in the smart solutions market.





GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ARE KEY TO ANY BUSINESS. WHAT IS NEXT AND WHAT IS THE FOCUS NOW FOR ISKRAEMECO?

This year we established the team for Smart Energy and Smart Water Solutions. When creating the solutions, we kept in mind that they should meet countless market demands now and in the upcom-ing future by giving companies tools to shape the future of energy and water management in the fast-pace digital-ised world.

As a leading smart metering products and solutions provider (smart meters and smart metering software), Iskraemeco will complement its existing portfolio with new business models and new markets - water, gas utilities, district heating and cooling and sub-metering.

HOW WAS THE IDEA OF SMART ENERGY AND WATER SOLUTIONS FORMED?

Focusing on meeting market needs and answering modern challenges, we are constantly expanding our expertise in new markets. In the past, we addressed water and gas utilities and district heat-ing and cooling systems only indirectly through our dual-fuel and multi-utility concepts of electricity smart metering. Energy market deregulation, energy efficiency initiatives and new energy services, emphasise the importance of sub-metering in multitenant buildings, commercial zones and industrial parks.

The new team will come up with a robust portfolio of smart solutions designed to meet the requirements of new customers

from the energy and water utilities and sub-metering markets. Digitalised solu-tions based on the Internet of Things (IoT) provide the necessary tools to manage energy and water use, anticipate de-mand, collect revenue and optimise costs. It also helps consumers act more proactively and sustainably, while signifi-cantly lowering their utility bills.

ISKRAEMECO HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN ELECTRICITY, BUT WHAT WERE THE REASONS AND TRIGGERS BEHIND IT STARTING AND LAUNCHING SMART WATER SOLUTIONS?

Every drop of water is precious for the planet and for the future of life as we know it. Water demand is increasing as the population grows. Clean and afford-able water is of the greatest importance for people. We need water to sustain our lives, for sanitation, hygiene and for food production. Water conservation and re-duction of non-revenue water (NRW) are the key concerns of water utilities across Europe and worldwide. The growth of residential static metering (ultrason-ic) remains one of the most interesting technology stories to follow. Today, more than 80% of residential water meters are still mechanical. IoT communication has become the key focus of smart water meters. Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies are being widely explored. Water utilities are increasing-ly adopting digital analytics platforms enabled by smart water meters and me-tering solutions. The data gathered are used to detect leaks, assess and predict consumption patterns in real time, and optimise water resources. By knowing and understanding technologies and market demands, we are forming our

Smart Water Solutions.

These give water utilities better control over their network through:

• Accurate metering in all water sourc-es, district metered zones (DMA) and end customer consumption points by deploying different types of wa-ter measuring technologies – me-chanical (single-jet, multi-jet, pos-itive displacement and Woltmann meters) and static (ultrasonic, electromagnetic).

• Reduction in real water losses: leakage detection and reduction. Proactive monitoring and pinpoint-ing of small leaks before significant damage is caused, as well as reduc-tions of apparent losses: detection of meter under-registrations, da-ta-handling errors, theft of water.

• Operational excellence by intro-ducing efficient workforce and as-set management. This means better maintenance and faster repairs, effi-cient asset management, as well as achievement of higher levels of op-erational efficiency and productivity for utility assets, and optimisation of daily maintenance

• Customer satisfaction. A better cus-tomer experience with greater billing accuracy. No supply interruptions. Decreased interruption of customer water supply.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE SMART WATER SOLUTIONS PORTFOLIO? WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF THE SOLUTIONS?

The current portfolio consists of three core solutions, all of which include me-ters and sensors, connectivity, software and services.



• Smart metering and billing: Accurate metering for water sources, district metering areas (DMA), I&C consum-ers and residential consumers and a robust platform for billing, customer portal & app.

• Smart prepayment: RF card and STS prepaid water meters are integrated in the vending software and smart metering platform.

• Active leakage detection: The ex-pandable monitoring platform en-ables water leakage control and a reduction of NRW using the District Metered Areas (DMA) approach.

All the core solutions can be extended with add-on software modules for:

• Analytics: focusing on perfor-mance based on data and statis-tical methods from billing and NRW management.

• Mobile Workforce Management: back-office software and a mobile app for field staff to cover the entire process from work order creation to completion.

• Asset Management: achieving the least cost and least risk of opera-tional assets while meeting custom-ers’ needs.

As water utilities increasingly evolve into subscription-based business models, the Smart Water Solution can be delivered as a managed service. Managed ser-vices can be Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), in more comprehensive service agreements also Smart Metering-as-a-Service (SMaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). The software is hosted in a private or public Cloud.

WHO ARE ISKRAEMECO’S TYPICAL CUSTOMERS FOR SMART WATER SOLUTIONS?

Iskraemeco has launched Smart Water Solutions to contribute to the sustain-able financial and technical operation of water utilities. These solutions address the most important challenges of wa-ter utilities: revenue collection, efficient water metering and consumption billing,

reduction of NRW, customer service and awareness, efficient utilisation of assets and a mobile workforce.

Today the solution portfolio is tailored to the needs of the European, Egyptian, African and Middle Eastern markets, whilst at the same time we are explor-ing market demands in India and Latin America as our future markets.

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM SMART ENERGY AND WATER SOLUTIONS IN THE FUTURE?

We are a long-distance runner. With a solution selling approach and new man-aged services business models, we will acquire new customers with recurring revenues. We are now building a net-work of our partners, hiring new team members and making sales in Europe, Egypt and Africa. The main showcase of the solutions is aligned with European and African Utility Week in October and November 2020. In the future, we ex-pect to contribute a significant share in Iskraemeco’s total revenues.

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y


The future is always overpredicted, but underestimated WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY NOWADAYS?

We live in times of fast change, technol-ogies and resources are changing, our customers’ challenges are changing, as are those of global risks. Therefore, our competences must change and our knowledge must grow in a deeper and wider sense. In addition, the word ‘sus-tainability’ is taking on a different mean-ing - to sustain, survive and prosper in the new reality. Many of the above-men-tioned challenges have a similar source. We are living and creating a world that



cannot sustain. We – the multi stake-holder economy – are using resources we do not have and creating a footprint the Planet cannot nullify. We are paying consultants, experts and analysts to pro-vide us with guidelines and predictions for the future. And we repeatedly look away, because we don’t like what we see in the mirror. We choose to ignore the obvious and continue searching for shortcuts. There will be a high price to pay globally if we continue on this track. The one thing we must learn from this terrible corona crisis is that a crisis is a crisis, which demands reactions, change and adjustment, and climate issue is also a crisis.



WHY ALL THE ABOVE WORDS?

Our industry plays an important, often overlooked role in this game. Over the next 10 years our biggest goal is to cut the global CO2 footprint by 60%. CO2 footprint has the biggest correlation with energy demand. Energy consump-tion is growing annually, therefore the CO2 footprint is also growing. Buildings create the biggest percentage of the overall CO2 footprint. To achieve a better perspective, let’s look at the EU; in the past its goals were to increase renewable energy by 20%, decrease CO2 footprint by 20% and to improve energy efficiency by 20%. The first two goals have more or less been achieved, however, the goal to improve energy efficiency has not been met. The goals for 2030 are much higher, the time period shorter, and the EU has called for a public consultancy, which is open until June 2020, on suggestions for how to raise the bar of the climate goals even higher and, moreover, how to achieve the goals. What strategies and technologies do we need to develop or start to use? We will participate with our strategy, will you?

AND WHAT IS OUR STRATEGY?

For the last 10 years on a global level the main solution everybody has focused on has been switching to renewable energy and limiting the use of fossil fuels. Yes, this is needed and we must continue, however, we know how the world is go-ing to develop and energy consumption will increase - some say by up to 50%. With this in mind, it is obvious that energy efficiency must be a key strategy.

From Iskraemeco’s perspective, the com-pany can contribute to energy efficiency on three different levels:

1. By optimising our company’s ener-gy e²ciency and solutions. We have

achieved great results and lowered the CO2 footprint per product by more than 50% in the last five years. We will continue this trend by intro-ducing new innovations, solutions and adjustments.

2. Through our customers using Iskraemeco solutions. It has been proven that the installation and use of smart metering technologies can increase energy efficiency by up to 10%. It should be noted howev-er, that although the EU is close to the targets it has set (80% of smart electricity meters installed by 2020), the majority of EU countries do not use smart metering technology to its full potential, therefore the en-ergy efficiency potential is not be-ing achieved. So, the advice for the rest of the world is: Do not repeat Europe’s mistake, data is a valuable tool for you.

3. At the level of end-users. If modern, end user applications were to be available, where consumers could optimise their household energy consumption based on data from the meter joined and analysed with more data from the grid and from the source of the energy. There are al-ready numerous great small business models in place, however, it needs to be pushed to higher volumes. It is also important to note that countries outside of Europe, such as those in the Middle East and Africa, are of-ten looking more seriously into these solutions. Let’s all learn from each other.

To summarise, the energy sector has pledged to play a leading role in invest-ments that are essential in becoming carbon-neutral well before 2050.

That being said, the underlying question remains: how will it happen? Digital tran-sition is a key enabler in fighting climate crisis and achieving the green transi-tion. Energy efficiency, renewables and

e-mobility, smart cities, smart homes, and smart grids with all the possible data analytics - these are all tools we have available and we need to use them wisely and fast.

To achieve this, synergy and cooperation is needed among all the stakeholders of the energy industry as well as under-standing and agreement among pol-icy makers. Nowadays we are often in between Dataphobia - being afraid of data - and Datatopia - the vision of a better world achieved through the use of smart technologies.

The fact is “We are living now, but we are creating the future”. We need to use measuring and data for a better world.

Measuring and data is what Iskraemeco knows best and has been mastering - with an added spin of innovation, agility and flexibility - for over 70 years.

The title of this magazine is Engage. And here we wish to engage you, to join our e³orts and strategy.

Join us in our journey, with You we wish to be on the right side of history. And remember, “we are our choices”.

D I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N


Digital twins contribute to more e²cient R&D, manufacturing and logistics processes

The development of the IoT gave rise to the concept of ‘digital twins’ – virtual replicas of physical devices and process-es that mimic all the functionalities and the mode of operation of their physical equivalents. Software programs have paved the way for further optimisation of product development and the planning of production and logistics processes, in-cluding the operation and improvements of physical devices and machines.

DID YOU KNOW THAT EVERY ISKRAEMECO ELECTRICITY METER HAS A DIGITAL TWIN?

A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical object – in our case, an electricity meter. A new electricity me-ter is first created in digital form as a 3D

model, electronic circuit schematics, or a PCB model. Such digital twins can be leveraged to perform any electrical or mechanical simulation. In product de-velopment, digital twins are used to help developers anticipate the outcome of a development cycle.

R&D has been using 2D and 3D models in product design and development for years. In this respect, digital twins are the most appropriate upgrade of our current way of work. We are strength-ening our competencies in the field of simulations enabled by state-of-the-art technologies. If used correctly, such simulations can predict the results of extensive testing in a very short period of time. This ensures more predictable development outcomes and reduces the time and cost of product development, while also improving product quality and manufacturability.

EXCELLENT VISUALISATION OF THE MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS PROCESSES IN PLACE

Digital twins can also be widely applied in the production sector as they enable visualisation of the existing manufactur-ing and logistics processes, including the representation of process times, build-up of WIP, use of energy sources and, most importantly, process bottlenecks. We use this information to design tech-nical solutions, which are then tested on a digital twin to determine whether such a solution will effectively eliminate the bottleneck.

In addition to simulations, the tool also improves:

• visualisation of future processes – a 3D representation of a production line into which we can manually in-sert new workstations or robots to be integrated into the actual image of the manufacturing facility by laser scanning,

• efficiency of future processes – use of all energy sources, WIP stock data, and through-put of the planned production line, and

• logistic flows of the entire factory where the future production line is installed.

In short, digital twins promote efficient planning of improved manufacturing and logistics processes, which is the foun-dation of a ‘lean factory’, i.e. a facto-ry with short transport routes, low WIP stock and high productivity. Since digital twins contain detailed data on products and processes, they are a major asset to the company and its employees. Digital twins allow process manage-ment and control, performance of work tasks and anticipation of improvements in the product development cycle to be done more easily, quickly and with fewer mistakes.



Information security is an important link in the digital transformation era It is commonly known that unauthorised access to, or distortion of, data might result in loss of information and related business trouble, as well as loss of revenue or reputation.

Hence, any loss of information comes at a high price. Digital transformation brings new and ever-changing technologies and processes, which requires companies to continuously adapt their business and work practices. Information security is a key mechanism that every company needs to put in place.





Iskraemeco amends its information se-curity mechanisms in accordance with international standards, best practices and recommendations made by auditors and customers. Committed to maximis-ing information security, the company demonstrates its compliance with ISO 27001 Information Security Management System standard every year through consistent improvement and progress.

EVERY DAY WE DEAL WITH INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE KEPT SECURE

In information security, people come first and are therefore highly exposed to risk. The threats to information secu-rity are great. Since we are aware that a reliable information security system is based on three pillars, we strive every day to minimise the risks, upgrade our processes and raise the awareness of our employees about the importance of data protection.

Common knowledge in past was just ensuring physicial security, but nowa-days companies need to take a wider approach. Information in electronic for-mat requires more advanced security mechanisms, such as passwords and computer locking systems, whilst it is also necessary to raise users’ awareness. It is common knowledge that loss of informa-tion may cause considerable damage to the company, its customers or employ-ees, so it is vital that we invest into each of these pillars on a daily basis, making sure that none of them is neglected.

It would be wrong to assume that in-formation security is strictly related to IT resources (computers, smart phones, networks). In fact, people are a main components of the entire informa-tion security system. With technolo-gy characterised by constant change, Iskraemeco needs to keep its employees well informed to ensure the optimal level of information security as well as unin-terrupted business operations.

QUICK REACTION TO CHANGE IS KEY TO SUCCESS

Every day we are faced with new chal-lenges and new technologies that make our work easier but also create informa-tion security risks. In order to cope with them, a control system has to be put in place.

It is impossible to avoid unforeseeable circumstances but a company can al-ways adapt and make sure it has main-tained the security of its employees and the data about the company and its business partners. When something unexpected happens, we need to make certain modifications of our operations in order to ensure business continuity.

Efficient and quick reaction is vital in to-day’s world, as is the method applies to resolve the situation. Every modification of an established system is a challenge in itself, which is another reason that un-derlines the importance of a resilient and dependable information security system.

People Process Technology Informationsecurity



Buzzword – Have you heard of Teams?CHANGE IS PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE. AND TEAMS IS ON THE WAY.

Digital transformation is changing our daily lives and reshaping the processes we know. It is making improvements and speeding up processes and activities by connecting employees, simplifying and fostering communication. As part of the digital transformation process, Iskraemeco is committed to simplifying and speeding up its internal processes in order to be more responsive to the cus-tomers’ needs and requirements. Since communication plays a crucial role in meeting the set objectives, the company started to use a chat-based collabora-tion tool Microsoft Teams.

WHAT IS MICROSOFT TEAMS?

Microsoft Teams, or simply Teams, is a tool that improves team collaboration and teamwork and as such replaces the use of Skype for business. Teams does not just enable its users to start and conduct chats, audio and video conferences but

offers a much wider range of function-alities that will facilitate work and en-hance collaboration for common goals. Put simply, Teams is a work environment.

DYNAMIC FEATURES OFFER ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT

Primary feature of this application and its namesake are so called “Teams”. Teams are a collection of people, content, and tools surrounding different projects and outcomes within an organization. They can be either private or public and sup-port up to 5000 members.

A team is designed to bring together a group of people who work closely to get things done. Teams can be dynam-ic for project-based work (for example, launching a product...), as well as ongo-ing, to reflect the internal structure of your organization (for example, departments and office locations). Conversations, files and notes across team channels are only visible to team members.

Inside a specific Team are also Channels. Channels are dedicated sections within a team to keep conversations organized by specific topics, projects, disciplines—whatever works for your team.

Inside each Channel is also a File library which only Team or Channel members can access. This makes for a very con-venient file storage. Best of all, the file library allows for simultaneous collab-orative work. This means that you and your colleagues can work on the same document in real time without fear of losing your progress or overwriting each other’s changes.

You can also attach various apps to your Teams and Channels. Apps like Planner for task management, Wiki for building a FAQ page or One Note for managing minutes of meetings.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF TEAMS?

Compared to its predecessor, Skype For Business, Teams is a much more feature rich application. In addition to classic audio and video calls it is also close-ly integrated via Office 365 with other Microsoft products such as Office, Power BI, SharePoint, One Drive and many more.

Features enable us to actively connect and collaborate in real time to get things done. Have a conversation right where the work is happening, whether co-au-thoring a document, having a meeting, or working together in other apps and services.

Teams is the place to have informal chats, iterate quickly on a project, work with team files, and collaborate on shared deliverables.

We welcome you to join us in exploring everything that Teams has to offer.

S U C C E S S S TO R I E S


Poland With 2.4 million customers, ENEA, one of Poland’s largest energy groups, is striving to implement smart metering solutions as a realization of its new devel-opment strategy. Due to a successful collaboration on the Polish market in the past, Iskraemeco will equip 70,000 metering points, which will strengthen the foundations for our continued cooperation in the future smart metering projects.

Iskraemeco has been awarded with the contract to deliver 70,000 single-phase and three-phase smart meters AM550 with 2G/4G communication. For ENEA, this deployment is a continuing stepping stone for introducing smart metering into its infrastructure. Combined with other advanced features, these meters are in line with the future trends in the smart energy market. To fit ENEAs’ specific requirements, Iskraemeco offered the utility to choose its applications from a wide range of different options to ensure that its meets its customers’ needs.

Macedonia Iskraemeco is continuing its supplies within the framework agreement with the utility EVN Macedonia, which manages a total of 800,000 metering points. Macedonia is striving to transform its grid to enable optimisation of the existing system. The agreement concluded in 2019 covers the supply of more than 200,000 MT174 residential meters. We hope that through successful continuation of the project Iskraemeco can soon start supplying its smart metering products. On the basis of the multiannual collaboration with EVN Macedonia and the local distribu-tion company, Iskra ATG, Iskraemeco plans to secure more than 75% market share.

S U C C E S S S TO R I E S


A R O U N D T H E G LO B E


Latin America

IndiaIskraemeco established its legal Indian entity in October 2019 to explore what is arguably the largest smart metering country in the world. India is expected to have a cumulative requirement of USD 45+ billion in the coming decade. In order to address these requirements, Iskraemeco is creating a 7,500 sq ft Global Centre of Excellence (GCE) in Kolkata to utilise the core strength of the native engineers – faster delivery of complex projects with high quality. This team will work on the global IoT platform and solution-oriented projects with a scope extending from home to meter to cash. In the near future, home devices and cars will be integrated with meters, and advanced analytics will help utilities as well as consumers to optimise the energy value chain and capital assets to make the world greener. As a sustainability practice leader, Iskraemeco is committed to creating bespoke solutions for each utility and helping to maintain and upgrade them. This GCE will have divisions such as embedded system design, bespoke solution development for the electricity, water and gas industries, a comprehensive validation laboratory for hardware and communication modules, soft-ware and end-to-end solutions. Iskraemeco has collaborated with global leaders in each of these fields to source equipment, and the best management and operational practices are being deployed from the very outset. Iskraemeco believes that there is no competition in the world of IoT, and that all stakeholders are collaborators. We must unite to make the world better using our unique core strengths.

The team has completed an intensive Visit Plan, covering Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru and utilities from Argentina, which introduces and reinforces our brand. Our prod-ucts are very well accepted, and we will meet the requirements of these markets in the future.

The LATAM market, particularly Argentina, requires a product portfolio different from other parts of the world. In situ automatic reading using an IrDA port is a common practice in many utilities in Argentina. With the priceless help of R&D from Kranj, we have been able to add an IrDA port to the MT174 and make the first deliveries of this meter to utilities. New regulations in Colombia, Peru and Chile will finally allow the market to move to smart meters, and we are working on anticipating market needs.

Both the manufacturing sites in Kranj and Egypt have been inspected and fully ap-proved to acquire local Electrical Security Certificates, which are mandatory for the commercialisation of electrical products in Argentina (ME152-1, MT174, AM550, MT880). We are also working to find the correct partners in each country - we have already confirmed Onix for Paraguay and Secoin for Uruguay.

A R O U N D T H E G LO B E


Egypt

AUDIT OF METERS AND COMMUNICATION MODULES

We are proud that the SMM Quality Assurance team (Liander - Stedin - Enduris B.V. - N.V. Juva), which is re-sponsible for quality assurance within the SMR5 project in the Netherlands, ap-proved Iskraemeco Egypt in just three months. Following the preparations and an extensive audit, Iskraemeco Egypt has become an approved manufacturer of the AM550 P1 and CDMA communica-tion modules for the Netherlands.

The entire audit practice included sup-ply chain, planning, production, pro-cesses, preparation, PCBA assembly, testing, documentation (PPAP, Track & Trace, Certificates) and overall opera-tion system with regards to a request for change, was initiated by Iskraemeco in September 2019.

CONTRACT WITH TATWEER MISR.

Iskraemeco Egypt has signed a contract for the supply, installation and mainte-nance of smart electricity and water meters to Tatweer Misr. The contract includes meter-to-cash solutions and maintenance for 4,000 AM550 smart meters and water meters in Fouka Bay in the North Coast, Egypt.

Awarded 2018 Top Mediterranean Resort in Development by The Mediterranean Resort & Hotel Real Estate Forum, Fouka Bay was crowned as an outstanding mixed-use resort showcasing dedica-tion, innovation and expertise in tourism and hospitality across the Mediterranean region, with a complete modern smart city solution using an IoT platform.

Tatweer Misr is targeting to provide highly automated services in the Fouka Bay resort to improve customer satis-faction, provide high quality of service, guarantee accurate invoices and facil-itate online payment in order to ensure

a streaming collection channel for both energy and water meters by implement-ing an automated and remote meter-to-cash solution.

CANAL DISTRIBUTION COMPANY WILL IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Iskraemeco and Canal Distribution Company are transforming the elec-tricity distribution network into a smart metering environment. Iskraemeco’s smart solution consists of 50,000 smart meters for residential and industrial ap-plications and a Head-End System for meter data collection and management. With Iskraemeco’s smart metering solu-tion, Canal Distribution Company will improve energy efficiency and enable higher quality services for end users. This turn-key smart metering project includes Iskraemeco’s smart meters with PLC and GPRS communication technologies and HES, Iskraemeco’s proprietary software solution with progressive functionalities. Besides the hardware and software solu-tion, Iskraemeco has also provided serv-ers and the necessary infrastructure, net-working points, operating systems and a Data Base Management System along with necessary licensing and support.

Furthermore, Iskraemeco is responsible for integrating the HES with the MDM (Meter Data Management System) pro-vided by Egyptian Electricity Holding Company. The project is currently in the “Go Live” stage. Both systems, the HES provided by Iskraemeco and MDM Oracle, are fully integrated and meet EEHC’s specifications according to Multispeak protocol. With Iskraemeco`s smart solution, the Canal Distribution Company will be able to overcome chal-lenges in the existing infrastructure and reap the benefits of a smart electricity distribution network.

H E A LT H AT W O R K


Improving workplace ergonomics

Applying ergonomics principles to work-place design has a positive effect on the health and satisfaction of employees. Employee health, motivation and perfor-mance are definitely among the most vi-tal parts of any company’s success. Fully aware of the importance of preventive measures, Iskraemeco is striving to iden-tify the needs of individual employees in the work process.

Ergonomics is a relatively new, interdisci-plinary branch of science that deals with our attitude to work, work tools and the workplace. The field is a combination of numerous disciplines such as psycholo-gy, organisation of work and workplace physiology. When work tools and work environment are designed to better fit human physical functions, this reduces the overall load on the worker and pre-vents persistent tiredness and long-term adverse health effects whilst increasing

worker capability and efficiency.

Careful workplace planning and ergo-nomic equipment can effectively prevent health disorders.

These do not appear overnight; they de-velop over time and can lead to long-term disabilities.

In recent years, musculoskeletal dis-orders have been recognised as the greatest challenge. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 25% of workers in the EU report work-related back pain and 23% com-plain about muscular pain. These dis-orders are the top reason for sick leave also in Slovenia. By applying ergonom-ics principles in workplace design, we can reduce the risk of workers straining themselves in the workplace and, in so doing, raise their productivity and the quality of the work they do.

WORKPLACE DESIGN AND MODIFICATIONS

Iskraemeco has established a workplace ergonomics team whose members at-tended training with a renowned ergo-nomics expert, Dr. Balantič. The team consists of workers from Technology, Production, Quality and Occupation Health & Safety. Team members carried out a workplace ergonomics analysis of existing production workplaces. Several workshops were conducted to assess in-dividual workstations and prepare for the implementation of proposed improve-ments. Our main focus was on improv-ing the ergonomics of the workplaces in Production. In Final Assembly, five elec-tric height-adjustable standing workta-bles were fitted which enable workers to set the desired height by simply pressing a button. Workers rotate between work-stations during the working day, which allows them to move and change their body posture more frequently (different moves). All newly workstations and lines are designed to enable sitting or stand-ing work to help workers avoid constant sitting and the negative effects it has on their body. For this reason, we have also increased the height of self-standing laser devices and other accessories. In certain workplaces the work area was expanded to facilitate movement and work. With careful workplace design Iskraemeco aims to improve the quality of the work performed, prevent work-re-lated health disorders and enhance the company’s performance. Continuous improvement in workplace ergonomics will continue to be funded from a special investment fund in the future.

Care for employees is of utmost impor-tance for our company. We are aware that healthy and satisfied employees are key to the company’s success.


24 April 2020 // www.iskraemeco.comSource:

https://hbr.org/2014/10/what-you-eat-affects-your-productivityhttps://transparency.kununu.com/science-food-work-productivity/

What we eat a³ects our productivityEating the right food throughout the workday changes how we work. Food has a direct impact on our cognitive per-formance, so the right food is one of most important elements of successful work.

Research indicates that eating fruits and vegetables throughout the day isn’t simply good for the body - it’s also beneficial for the mind. The more fruits and vegetables we consume (up to 7 portions), the happier, more engaged, and more creative we tend to be. Fruits and vegetables contain vital nutrients that foster the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the experience of curiosity, motivation, and engagement. They also provide an-tioxidants that minimize bodily inflam-mation, improve memory, and enhance mood.

The company is committed to promot-ing the wellbeing of all employees at the workplace. We have decided to provide our staff with a weekly supply of fresh fruit, which will be available in the com-mon areas. We believe in working closely with local producers, as we want to en-sure the best for our employees.

In short, eating regular, small portions of healthy foods makes us happier, more engaged, and more creative.



// BRINGING INTELLIGENCE TO ENERGY

Engage - Iskraemeco’s newspaper Publisher: Iskraemeco, d.d. Savska loka 4, 4000 Kranj Content, design and DTP: MARCOM E-mail: [email protected] Circulation: 170 copies Print: Format, Kranj

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